“What we are seeing in the deconstructors at the heart of our study is not that they left the faith or left the church altogether, but that they left that church to find Jesus move clearly in another place, or church. What they did was not deconstruct the faith. They are shedding beliefs that have “barnacled” themselves to evangelicalism in a way that makes them central and necessary. The deconstructors went through pain, turmoil, and the realization that they might lose friends and their stabilizing community in order to maintain their integrity about what it means to follow Jesus. There are too many for whom “deconstruction” means shedding elements of cultural evangelicalism.” Amen.
These is an excellent list! I wish I’d had this before I finished my book. Sociologically, I’m very interested in Who exercised control over people (even if well meaning) and How. And how do we raise the next generation of leaders who can work with the tensions inherent in these issues?
What a great summary. Some weigh heavier than others, but the "list" reflects my hundreds of conversations over the last 10 years. My counsel to "deconstructionist" is to not give up on Jesus. My experience, antidotal, as it is, would be that far too many have actually left faith and Christianity behind. I, for one, am encouraging the young adults God brings my way to take a hard look at their faith and the roots of their former worldview, beliefs, values and behaviors. Now my heart is to help in the reconstruction of their faith, if they will let me, with Jesus as the foundation, where He always should have been.
Thank you so much for this. Almost 20 years ago, I "deconstructed" when I had to leave the practice of medicine due to chronic illness. I was sure that God had called me into medicine and suddenly, I was left adrift (and in pain). I spent years re-evaluating what I believed and why I believed it. I ended up leaving evangelicalism for a mainstream Christian church in 2016 with my husband. Trump and the church's attitude toward my oldest child's bisexuality were the final straw. I'm loving learning more about the Bible and God (your Substack is one of my resources). I'm still following Jesus, just in a different way.
Also, when you talk about Christians hitting a "wall" in their faith, this reminds me of the Stages in the Life of Faith (Taken from the book The Critical Journey by Janet Hagberg) John Mark Comer uses this in his spiritual formation material and I have heard him reference it in various interviews on his Practicing the Way discipleship material. Here is more information on that if you're interested:
I am grateful for voices that direct us back to being Jesus followers and how to love others as He loves. I really found the list of reason people are distancing or deconstructing helpful.
“What we are seeing in the deconstructors at the heart of our study is not that they left the faith or left the church altogether, but that they left that church to find Jesus move clearly in another place, or church. What they did was not deconstruct the faith. They are shedding beliefs that have “barnacled” themselves to evangelicalism in a way that makes them central and necessary. The deconstructors went through pain, turmoil, and the realization that they might lose friends and their stabilizing community in order to maintain their integrity about what it means to follow Jesus. There are too many for whom “deconstruction” means shedding elements of cultural evangelicalism.” Amen.
Thank you Scott
These is an excellent list! I wish I’d had this before I finished my book. Sociologically, I’m very interested in Who exercised control over people (even if well meaning) and How. And how do we raise the next generation of leaders who can work with the tensions inherent in these issues?
What a great summary. Some weigh heavier than others, but the "list" reflects my hundreds of conversations over the last 10 years. My counsel to "deconstructionist" is to not give up on Jesus. My experience, antidotal, as it is, would be that far too many have actually left faith and Christianity behind. I, for one, am encouraging the young adults God brings my way to take a hard look at their faith and the roots of their former worldview, beliefs, values and behaviors. Now my heart is to help in the reconstruction of their faith, if they will let me, with Jesus as the foundation, where He always should have been.
Bless you brother.
Thank you so much for this. Almost 20 years ago, I "deconstructed" when I had to leave the practice of medicine due to chronic illness. I was sure that God had called me into medicine and suddenly, I was left adrift (and in pain). I spent years re-evaluating what I believed and why I believed it. I ended up leaving evangelicalism for a mainstream Christian church in 2016 with my husband. Trump and the church's attitude toward my oldest child's bisexuality were the final straw. I'm loving learning more about the Bible and God (your Substack is one of my resources). I'm still following Jesus, just in a different way.
Also, when you talk about Christians hitting a "wall" in their faith, this reminds me of the Stages in the Life of Faith (Taken from the book The Critical Journey by Janet Hagberg) John Mark Comer uses this in his spiritual formation material and I have heard him reference it in various interviews on his Practicing the Way discipleship material. Here is more information on that if you're interested:
https://gracerules.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/nextreformation-com-wp-admin-resources-stages-of-faith-pdf.jpg
I am grateful for voices that direct us back to being Jesus followers and how to love others as He loves. I really found the list of reason people are distancing or deconstructing helpful.
Scot, I think you may appreciate this about the role of parenting. Marissa Franks Burt has so much good online content and a book coming in 2025. https://open.substack.com/pub/mburtwrites/p/when-deconstruction-dethrones-household?r=39pdj&utm_medium=ios